Not much has changed in a month. The real estate market in Metro Vancouver is still slow. The sales figures are down 39.3% from last January and 36.3% below the 10-year January sales average. It is the slowest January since 2009! That is saying something!
The sales-to-active listings ratio for January are slightly worse for all categories when compared to December. It is 6.8% for detached homes. 11.9% for townhomes and 13.6% for condominiums. A value of less than 12% indicates pressure for prices to go down. This is definitely a buyer’s market with the number of total listings up 55.6% from last January.
What is interesting is that the number of newly listed homes was up 27.7% from last January and 244.6% increase compared to last month. Seems like there are a lot of people wanting to sell into this spring market. Will buyers start to step up?
Remember to make your declaration regarding the Province’s Speculation and Vacancy Tax. The deadline is March 31st if you don’t want to pay the taxes. Each owner on title will receive their own letter with information needed to do the declaration. You can do it online or by phone. Note this is not the same as the Empty Home Tax which is a City of Vancouver initiative.
Have a great month.
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